Enabling beta releases of Craft

We occasionally may release public beta versions of Craft to a pre-selected audience of testers. To participate in a beta of Craft, you need a one-time activation code that you can use to switch to the beta channel for Craft releases.

Note: Once you've used your activation code, you will not be able to use it again to activate the beta release channel for Craft on another computer. Be sure you're applying the code on the computer you intend to use for beta testing.

To apply that activation code:

Update Craft Manager to latest version if you haven’t already. This is especially important if you receive an error about the beta code being invalid as older versions of Craft Manager may not be able to accept new beta codes.

Click on the Craft icon in the OS X menu bar to open the Craft Manager pane.

Press command+shift+B to open a field where you can enter your beta activation code. Note: please visit the Known limitations section on this page if you have trouble executing this keystroke.

Enter your one-time activation code and click Activate Code.

Enter your name, email address, and other requested details and then submit the form.

In the bottom right of the Craft Manager pane, click the dropdown to change to the channel you've been invited to beta test.

After you've switched to that channel you'll be able to update Craft to the latest beta version and install any additional beta tools that are available.

Known limitations

Some applications running in the background can intercept the command+shift+B keystroke, such as the Bartender or ClipMenu applications. Please check for any applications you may have running in the background that are using that keystroke, quit the application, and then press command+shift+B to once again try opening the field where you can enter your beta activation code.

If you use an AZERTY keyboard (or any other international keyboards), you may be unable to activate the Craft beta activation field with the shift+command+B shortcut. We recommend temporarily switching to a QWERTY keyboard layout. You should then be able to use that keystroke and enter the beta activation code.